Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
Catching up as best I can...lol....
Our stroll through the NIV '84, looking at verses containing words translated as 'heart' or 'hearts' has brought us to the book of Luke. We'll focus on the verses in the first three chapters this week. beginning with part of the news Gabriel brought to Zechariah as he was ministering in the temple, speaking of the son to be born to Zechariah and Elizabeth:
"And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous -- to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." -- Lk 1:17; 'hearts' is, as usual, Strong's G 2588, Kardia - the heart.
Ok, I was surprised by this. I have always heard - 'turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers.', which is, of course, the quote from Mal. 4:6. So why have I never noticed that's not exactly what Gabriel says? He references it, of course, but he only quotes half of it. And it may be enough that Gabriel referenced both Elijah and the generational reconciliation to cite the whole Malachi passage by association. It would be enough to identify the coming baby with the prophecy. But the phrase 'and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous' was a new one to me. And I know I've read that dozens of times. It just didn't hit me before like it hit today. The wisdom of the righteous...kind flies it the face of the modern take, which is that folks who simply try to live according to God's instruction are considered, at best, rather backward, and at worst phobic and bigoted. Foolish. But that's backwards.
Our next verse is part of the Christmas story...Jesus is born, the angels sing, the shepherds come and worship and leave, telling everyone what had happened.
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. -- Lk 2:19 'heart' is, as expected, G 2588 again.
I have always kinda liked this bit of commentary on Mary. Some traditions maintain that Mary was one of the sources Luke used for his narrative...which would mean she likely shared with him some of her thoughts and emotions...like, how she remembered those events in the years that followed. But, a few days later, when Jesus was presented at the temple and Anna and Simeon spoke over him, Simeon warned her
Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too." -- Lk 2:34-35; 'hearts' is, again, G 2588.
Again, this would likely have been told to Luke by Mary, as no one else was around at that time. I imagine she also told him the story of losing Jesus for three days 12 years later...of finding him in the Temple...then
Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. - Lk 3: 51; 'Heart' is G2588 again.
Mary had a lot to think about as Jesus grew and embarked on his ministry...and she kept it all in her heart. I wonder if she talked to anybody about it before she told the story to Luke.
Assuming, of course, that that's what happened. But given the details about Mary...it seems likely.
Circling back to John for the last verse for today...he was preaching and baptizing in the desert. The first prophetic voice to rise in Israel in 400ish years, he was something that attracted crowds.
The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ -- Lk 3:15...and 'hearts' is, again, G2588.
Not talking about it...wondering in private. As a group. It had been so long since anyone had dared to speak a 'thus says the Lord' word...and here was John. After years of subservience, the people weren't looking for just a prophet, they were looking for the Messiah. Deliverance. And, like Mary, they held their conjectures in their hearts...maybe because it was too precious of a hope to speak out loud.
